So how is everybody else with this problem doing right now? I'm not getting any better really. It's kind of ruined a part of my life to be honest. I don't feel like myself anymore not being able to work out nearly as efficiently as before. Any ideas on how to get out of this funk?

It showed up on MRI?? What symptoms you still having and what treatment you had?

It was an upper disk ( C disk of the normal disks) ... i had sharp shoulder pain when i moved my arm certain ways, and part of my forearm and my thumb were going numb. A little bit of upper back soreness too.

All i have done is Ice, rest, and 3 advil a day. Pain is completely gone and is healing on schedule

It was an upper disk ( C disk of the normal disks) ... i had sharp shoulder pain when i moved my arm certain ways, and part of my forearm and my thumb were going numb. A little bit of upper back soreness too.

All i have done is Ice, rest, and 3 advil a day. Pain is completely gone and is healing on schedule

hey guys I have bulging discs L4 and L5 from football in highschool I think I reaggerivated them while squatting on Tuesday. I really dont know how I thought my back was arched and I just felt a sharp intense pain in my lower back during my 3rd set at pretty light weight for me so I stopped my complete workout. I went to the health clinic on campus where of course no doctor was in so the nurse had no idea what to do so she gave me vicodin. It hurts to stand up straight and walk, although its been getting better since Tuesday. Im also leaning to the left when I stand up straight and it seems like my right hip looks pushed forward a bit for some reason. I really dont wanna go to the doctor and just wanna let it heal on its on but I just wanted to get everyones opinion! thanks!

EVERYONE should at least take the time to read Dr. Bookspan's free articles. (okay, just found out I can't post links). Google "Dr. Bookspan and click on the first result. Ignore the cheesy homepage image of a mountain and click on "Fix Pain Office and Articles."

Her books are also great. She doesn't speak perfect English, but she knows her ****. It's even more amazing since the reason she went into neck/back pain research was because of a crippling car accident she was in when she was young and the doctors told her she would never walk again. She got sick of the bull**** "exercises" for back and neck pain and started looking at their causes and solutions in everyday moment.

Most of the things in her book are in the free articles, however, I would recommend buying her book to have them all in one place AND to support her.

If a body builder has a herniated disc or bulging disc, there is a relatively inexpensive fix that is not a surgery. *I saw this website http://www.fixmybackdisc.com and it looks like they use non steroid gel injection called Discogel to fix the herniated or bulging disc. *Supposedly they are using this in Europe as well and it works in about 90% of the cases. *Anyhow, it is a non surgical remedy, so that is always good. *And they use Ozone to treat the disc before the Discogel. *Anyhow I hope this helps you guys out. *Let me know if you have tried it or are going to try it so that we can see the results here as well.

Thank you for this information. I have a mild bulge at L5-S1 that I re-injured in July after 3 pain-free years. If I bend down it is worse. What I did before was go to see a NUCCA chiropractor who moves the top two bones in your spine to align the whole thing and then started yoga twice a week. I am still experiencing pain and numbness and tingling and am going to my NUCCA doc. I will also incorporate the McKenzie stretch as you suggested. The new link is a pdf on the Lighthouse Family Medicine website. I can't post the link because I am new and they won't let me. Thanks again for all the great info Zprime!

Hi guys, im 17 years old and i herniated my disc 3 months ago. Doctors said it would be fully healed by now but i can feel it still isn't, am i too late for these steps that the OP posted? I feel like at this stage any chance i had to recover lost gel is well and truly lost, any advice? havent deadlifted or back squatted for 3 months!!
thanks all

I am not a doctor, and this is not medical advice. It is what has worked for me:

* Stop squatting with big weight - If you work legs one at a time, you can use significantly less weight, putting less strain on the spine/discs etc. Bodyweight will probably be enough weight to start with (pistol squats). Pistol squats will also work your core muscles.
* Start calisthenics - bodyweight exercises. These can help to strengthen up your core muscles which play a major role in holding your posture and reducing stress on your spine.
* Start swimming - again, very good for core muscles, helps burn fat which by reducing your bodyweight also puts less pressure on your discs.
* Do stretching exercises for the spine and legs.
* Do inversion - gravity boots / hanging upside down. This effectively stretches out your spine to let the discs re-hydrate.

Good luck

Originally Posted by matthewmmcc

Hi guys, im 17 years old and i herniated my disc 3 months ago. Doctors said it would be fully healed by now but i can feel it still isn't, am i too late for these steps that the OP posted? I feel like at this stage any chance i had to recover lost gel is well and truly lost, any advice? havent deadlifted or back squatted for 3 months!!
thanks all

I had 2 herniated thoracic disks from doing one arm rows with an extremely heavy weight. I would stop lifting for a week or 2 and try again but the problems would keep coming back. The ortho wanted to do surgery but I declined. I took 2 years off from lifting. I thought I was never going to lift again. I slowly was able to tolerate lifting. I'm back without any problems but I still have to be careful.

I had 2 herniated thoracic disks from doing one arm rows with an extremely heavy weight. I would stop lifting for a week or 2 and try again but the problems would keep coming back. The ortho wanted to do surgery but I declined. I took 2 years off from lifting. I thought I was never going to lift again. I slowly was able to tolerate lifting. I'm back without any problems but I still have to be careful.

Yes I can lift heavy now. But because I had to take 2 years off I lost alot of the muscle I had previously put on. Thus, my top bench presses are not as heavy as they were. Another reason for that is because I had a rotator cuff operation 2 years ago. I'm just happy I'm able to lift. I thought it was all over for me.

Yes I can lift heavy now. But because I had to take 2 years off I lost alot of the muscle I had previously put on. Thus, my top bench presses are not as heavy as they were. Another reason for that is because I had a rotator cuff operation 2 years ago. I'm just happy I'm able to lift. I thought it was all over for me.

Nice one. I also lost muscle mass. I'm planning to go back to gym in 1 month. I hope I don't get any limitations.

So how is everybody else with this problem doing right now? I'm not getting any better really. It's kind of ruined a part of my life to be honest. I don't feel like myself anymore not being able to work out nearly as efficiently as before. Any ideas on how to get out of this funk?

Ruined, well it set me back for a good six months and I'm still recovering, but way better. Just know that you're not alone and time usually remedies these types of injuries. Just don't put yourself Ina position to reagravate it. It's hard as we all love to workout reason why were one here, but give it time bro. I managed to avoid all injections and operations, by giving it time to heal.

So how is everybody else with this problem doing right now? I'm not getting any better really. It's kind of ruined a part of my life to be honest. I don't feel like myself anymore not being able to work out nearly as efficiently as before. Any ideas on how to get out of this funk?

I understand your feelings but don't be upset. I suggest you a good PT and swimming (or regular neck strengthening exercises). It's been 2 months since the last time I trained. I can say my neck pain is gone. I've never had any weakness. In this 2 months, I did some exercises to strengthen my neck and stop lifting. I didn't get excess weight thanks to my clean diet. I talked to 2 doctors. 2 of them said that I can start to lift again. I'm planning to get started on this March.

Sorry for the ramble. Feels good to share though and thanks for reading.

I have a ruptured disc L4-L5 at 21. Screwed over by sears auto center. Couldn't put on my socks even for a week, barley could walk or sit. Their workers comp doctor just gave me an xray and said it was just a sprain even after 3 visits within 30 days. I knew it was a disc issue because I've had a sprain and this was severe pain. Should've demanded a second opinion at a different doctor I guess. Should have spent some effort contacting a lawyer too. Live and learn. Quit my job because pain was too much for physicalness.

Had to buy hydrocodone and somas off the streets. Started doing sales (great with euphoria from pain killers). After a few months paid for MRI on my own wa la magic diagnosed! Never took a shot because I read online the pain could come back worse. I never had the surgery because of the possibility of needing more surgeries like a fusion. I read horror stories online. Managed the pain with hydrocodone addiction (justified because of the pain) (dealer/friend took more than me and wasn't in pain).

Walking seemed to help loosen me up. I would do stretches. Pain gradually lowered in severity. Friends talked me out of justifying the hydrocodone. Limited myself to 1 a day. Dad took me to #1 ortho. doctor for the operation. Felt like a salesman to me looking for a insurance payoff. Told doc I was taking hydrocodone. He said I need the surgery if Im taking that stuff, if not then quit taking it. So I quit gradually. First few days sucked. Used advil and tylenol to manage pain. Now pain is pretty much gone. Just some stiffness occasionally. Sometimes feel it pinch but walk it off. Ice it on the bad days but havent had one in a few months. Don't think I could do a super physical job again. Quit sales because was so tempted to take something to boost my mood. Trying to find a line of work I like.

Saw the guy with no legs running in the olympics and inspired me to start working out again. No deadlifts or weighted squats yet. Feels good to just bench, row, jog/run, bike, basketball, ect ect. At one point I thought I wouldn't be able to!

Never seen a chiropractor the whole time. Inversion table definitely sound amazing. My back (vertabrae) make popping noises sometimes. I read if yours moves too much and causes pain is when a spinal fusion is needed. Glad I didnt get the surgery but when I 50 I hope I still feel that way.

Sorry for the ramble. Feels good to share though and thanks for reading.

I have a ruptured disc L4-L5 at 21. Screwed over by sears auto center. Couldn't put on my socks even for a week, barley could walk or sit. Their workers comp doctor just gave me an xray and said it was just a sprain even after 3 visits within 30 days. I knew it was a disc issue because I've had a sprain and this was severe pain. Should've demanded a second opinion at a different doctor I guess. Should have spent some effort contacting a lawyer too. Live and learn. Quit my job because pain was too much for physicalness.

Had to buy hydrocodone and somas off the streets. Started doing sales (great with euphoria from pain killers). After a few months paid for MRI on my own wa la magic diagnosed! Never took a shot because I read online the pain could come back worse. I never had the surgery because of the possibility of needing more surgeries like a fusion. I read horror stories online. Managed the pain with hydrocodone addiction (justified because of the pain) (dealer/friend took more than me and wasn't in pain).

Walking seemed to help loosen me up. I would do stretches. Pain gradually lowered in severity. Friends talked me out of justifying the hydrocodone. Limited myself to 1 a day. Dad took me to #1 ortho. doctor for the operation. Felt like a salesman to me looking for a insurance payoff. Told doc I was taking hydrocodone. He said I need the surgery if Im taking that stuff, if not then quit taking it. So I quit gradually. First few days sucked. Used advil and tylenol to manage pain. Now pain is pretty much gone. Just some stiffness occasionally. Sometimes feel it pinch but walk it off. Ice it on the bad days but havent had one in a few months. Don't think I could do a super physical job again. Quit sales because was so tempted to take something to boost my mood. Trying to find a line of work I like.

Saw the guy with no legs running in the olympics and inspired me to start working out again. No deadlifts or weighted squats yet. Feels good to just bench, row, jog/run, bike, basketball, ect ect. At one point I thought I wouldn't be able to!

Never seen a chiropractor the whole time. Inversion table definitely sound amazing. My back (vertabrae) make popping noises sometimes. I read if yours moves too much and causes pain is when a spinal fusion is needed. Glad I didnt get the surgery but when I 50 I hope I still feel that way.

bump

I feel you in so many ways. I was on both the hydro and oxy for a while. Addictive long term, but definitely helps ease the misery for this type of pain. No one can trully appreciate the pain of disk problems unless theyve had them. Thanks for sharing bro.

I know this pain…..but I’m still in the gym 5 times a week.
The BEST piece of advice I can give it’s that you need to start SWIMMING!!! I hit the pool for an hour after every work out and it keeps me going.

I’ve been through the worst of it and have a guaranteed 2 to three more surgeries within the next 20 years with the state of my spine, happy to take any questions

88lbs down, another 22lbs to go....
Herniated Disk L4,L5 – Surgery July 2012, Pilates three time a week

Best kept cutting secret of all time >> http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/bromocriptine

First of all, what an excellent thread. It was been so helpful to me as endless hours of research etc has driven me insane.
So hears my story...

I have only recently turned 24 years old. I'm 6'3 and weigh about 85kgs
I am extremely fit and healthy and have been playing basketball at a State level for numerous years now.
Approximately 6.5 months ago i decided I would finally do my first set of squats, ever.
I was training with a teammate and was always the only one who didnt participate in squats as I simply didnt feel safe performing them.
I am usually very careful when in the gym as so my form and the amount of weights I lift. And this one time, just the one time that I simply wasnt thinking and made the biggest mistake of my life.
I decided to attempt to squat roughly 90kgs I think it was. Im sure my form was shocking, due to the fact that i was struggling to lift the weight more than 4-5 reps.
Bare in mind, this was my first time EVER squatting. I simply had a mind lapse and now have to deal with it.
After completing 3 sets of 4-5 reps i was quite sore, but not in a bad way. Just a general muscle sore.
I actually didnt feel to bad at all, so then i fully completed our teams usual plyometric/jumping program for the next hour or so.
My legs were extremely sore as i hadnt done a full plyo session like that in a couple weeks .
For the next 2days i was very tender in my thighs and glutes, hobbling around the house. I thought nothing of it as i really pushed myself during the workout. So i just rested those two days.
3 days after the workout - I do my usual stretches then start shooting around, within 2mins of jogging around and shooting, i was in chronic pain. My back had completely locked up on me all through my lower all the way up to in between my shoulder blades. I was in agonising pain.
I thought i had just strained something, so i just left it hoping it would heal.
I still had a few days before i had to go back to work as i fly in and out. But it came time to fly to work, there was slight improvement so i thought i was on the road to recovery.
My job is extremely physical and i work 12 hours a day. So for the next 2 months i put up with the pain hoping it would get better. It didnt.
3 months after the accident, i saw a physio. She was young and said i was just very tight with some muscle spasm that was all. I saw her for 3 weeks (6 sessions) with no improvement. So i stopped. I then saw an osteopath for a month, who adjusted me and massaged me and simply said yep you just have a large muscle spasm in your back.
By the the pain was predominantly in my mid back on the right hand side as it was solid as a brick. I was feel a little better after a massage and an adjustment but the pain would be back and worst after an hour or so.
4 months into it and still NO improvement, if anything it was worse. I was avoiding doing some jobs at work because they would nearly put me in tears. I knew this had to be more than just a muscle spasm and i was only making it worse.
So 5 months into my injury i could no longer wake up in the mornings and put on a brave face and pretend i was ok. I was in severe pain 24/7.
The only time i had relief was when i layed down. But when i woke up, it was back.
So i bit the bullet, told work i simply couldnt work and my back is killing me. By this stage i was very frustrated and down on myself so do not think your alone with this injury, as i did for so long and just let it take over me.
Work flew me home and told me to see their doctor, he said yep you have bad muscle spasm, go see a physio and you should be ok.
So i saw a new physio, also told me i had a bad muscle spasm. I requested an MRI of my upper and lower back just to cancel anything major out. So i continued to see the physio 3 times a week getting deep tissue massage aswell as dry needling etc. The only thing that improved was my muscle spasm in my mid back.
It took me till the 6th month after my injury (still off work at this stage) to finally get an MRI referral.
I got my results today..

Now my results could be ALOT worse, I read all your stories on here and truley feel for you all. I cant be thankful enough the bulges arnt hitting my nerves etc, but they are still causing me ALOT of pain and i have not been able to workout or play the sport i love for nearly 7 months.
I have an appointment with a physio tomorro to work out a plan on where to do from here. I will keep updating my situation as much as i can.
I really hope my story can help someone and im happy to answer any questions.
My quality of life has dramatically dropped and i run the risk of losing my job now as well among other things, it can be truley depressing but some of the things I read on here definetely give me hope and let me know im not the only one going through this.
If anyone could give me any tips and info on my case that would be greatly appreciated aswell.

If it's not a herniated disk yet, it's a good thing. Bulging discs can heal up in time as I know. First thing you should do is to take rest. After a while, you should start taking an active treatment. Doing nothing is not an option. Consult a physician about your situation. PT/Chiro may help you in your recovery. Don't think about the surgery now, give it a chance to heal. Your doctor will give you some instructions. Be sure that you exactly follow them. Disc injuries are hard to deal with but it's not impossible. Never lose hope. There are many people in your situation. Some of them got back to the gym and lifting heavy. May God heal your wounds and our wounds.

If it's not a herniated disk yet, it's a good thing. Bulging discs can heal up in time as I know. First thing you should do is to take rest. After a while, you should start taking an active treatment. Doing nothing is not an option. Consult a physician about your situation. PT/Chiro may help you in your recovery. Don't think about the surgery now, give it a chance to heal. Your doctor will give you some instructions. Be sure that you exactly follow them. Disc injuries are hard to deal with but it's not impossible. Never lose hope. There are many people in your situation. Some of them got back to the gym and lifting heavy. May God heal your wounds and our wounds.

So much this.....everyone feels alone with this type of injury. Take it slow and do your homework. You WILL get better.

My story

Oh wow! Thank you so much for starting this forum. This has been the absolute best site that I've read regarding herniated disc back pain. Thank you for all the great advice.

I have 2 torn discs which had caused herniations (L4/L5 and L5/S1). According to the MRI, one tear is at the front of L4 and the other tear is the back of L5. The chiropractor said because of the unusual locations, both flexion and extension exercises could cause pain.

3 months ago, I went snow tubing and slipped on the ice and fell backward landing on my back. It was sore for awhile and bruised. I am a dental hygienist so I have to sit to see patients all day and lean forward alot. I started having progressively worse back pain so I started working out, trying to build core muscles. I also started standing to see all my patients bc standing relieved the pain. One day at the gym, I was doing squats and that was the icing on the cake. My life has not been the same since.

I started experiencing severe back pain and left leg sciatica. It felt like I broke a hip and had a constant Charlie horse that would not go away. Walking and standing helped but sitting, laying, or driving was excruciating, like my bones were breaking.

I went to the doctor. He put me on muscle relaxers and an anti inflammatory. Nothing helped, in fact it got much worse.

I got a therapeutic massage where she went 'deep tissue' around the sciatica nerve area. Felt great as long as I didn't move, but as soon as I got up, the pain came rushing back.

I bought a new mattress bc mine was 10 years old and sleeping was horrible. I would take the muscle relaxers before bed but still wake up every hour and scream out in pain just trying to move positions. Getting out of bed was just as challenging- they showed me a way to scootch to the side if the bed and go from laying to standing so I never had to sit. It took 30 min of standing to be able to beat weight on my left side, as my spinal discs compressed again after sleeping. Then all I could do was hobble around for awhile.

I started going to physical therapy. Yes the Mckenzie press up stretch was the one and only exercise they wanted me to do. The said for me to shift my hips away from the pain a little and press up. It was hard for me bc if the locations if the tears. Flexion and extension both caused pain but the PT said I was doing great centralizing the pain.

I also got a TENs unit through physical therapy. Omg, this has been the best thing in giving some pain relief!! I highly recommend everyone with a herniated disc to ask around for a TENs unit. My doctor wrote a Rx for it and the PT referred me to the distributor directly. My insurance covered everything and it is awesome. The extra legwork getting it is well worth it but you have to ask for it!! They tried to discourage me but if it helps, it's worth a try. I saw an OTC at Walgreens for $75 l, but it's not the same.

So I went to the ER bc my pain got unbearable where I could no longer stand or walk without severe discomfort. The ER have me a steroid shot and pain meds, which both helped! They did a CT scan and then an MRI the following day.

My doctor referred me to the pain management back specialists for a spinal/ epidural. My chiropractor warned me that the spinal wont help with the torn discs, only time will heal those. I got to the point where I can't stand straight to see patients anymore. I laid down on the floor during my lunch one day to do the mckenzie stretch and then I couldn't get back up!! I had to get this spinal procedure.

I got the spinal procedure last week. It was scary bc I didn't know what to expect. The whole procedure took about 5 min. They put the needle in the herniated disc and infuse steroids and lidocaine. It burned a few times but it didn't hurt as bad as I thought. There was 0 downtime afterward. They said some people feel better right away but you could feel worse 1-2 days after. Didn't do much for me, helped a little but so does time.

I started going to a chiropractor. He puts me on a spinal decompression belt machine. It's great while I have it on. 80 pounds of pressure right at the herniation. All the pain goes away and you feel normal again.... Until he takes it off. Then the sharp pain comes back with a vengeance and I'm all stiff and sore again like I've been sleeping for 8 hours. I have to hobble around his office for awhile so I have compress the discs enough to walk on it.

So that brings us to the present. I cannot stand fully upright yet. I cannot sit on both cheeks without pain. The best med is Ibuprofen 3/ day and Percocet at night. I love and use my TENs unit 3/day. I just bought the vitamins that were suggested in the 1st post and an exercise ball to gently bounce on. I am healing but it is slow. I am returning to work Friday bc I am out of vacation days. They sell exercise ball office chairs that I am going to get. I will do the Mackenzie press ups, even though I'm not a big fan.

Thanks so much for everyone posting their story. It has really helped me. I am desperate to get better bc this is no life. I just want to be able to function normal again. I will keep you all updated.